Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Over the last few years, the kickoff for the Steeltown Film Factory Script Competition has gone from an informal meeting to an event at the Regent Square Cinema where this year's winner was shown. This year's winter was a charming script called "My Date with Adam," a science fictional rom com.

If you're interested in entering a short script, read the rules and write a script. The early bird deadline is 12/15.

In addition to talking to other finalists from this year, Carl Kurlander mentioned two upcoming feature films that will be shot here in the not too distant future:

I completely agree with the article. That's an awful lot that Orson Scott Card, the writer, used to understand about tolerance that he's completely lost sight of as he's gotten older.

I really enjoyed the book, have read generally good reviews of the movie and will go tonight. Normally, I do boycott homophobic movies/TV shows, but while Ender's Game was written by a homophobe the theme of the book is anything but (and the movie apparently shares this quality). As a movie fan, I want to support good science fiction movies, in hopes of seeing more movies like Gravity or Ender's Game and fewer movies starring comic book heroes or supernatural horror.

I will make a donation to a LBGTQ charity today to acknowledge OSC's homophobia. This idea came from a friend and it's spot-on. I went to Charity Navigator (which ranks charities) and gave $30 to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and said the donation was made because "Orson Scott Card's homophobia raised this money."

11/2/2013

I've seen Ender's Game, generally liked it and would give it a 7 on the IMDB scale.

I hadn't read Ender's Game in about 25 years so seeing the movie was fascinating. In many ways, the movie felt more like a post-9/11 movie given the societal paranoia the movie makes clear (and seeing the movie made me remember the book much more clearly). While the movie is flawed (Harrison Ford's part was both written and acted oddly), it's definitely worth seeing. Asa Butterworth as Ender was excellent and the effects are very, very good. People who want the movie to do badly at the box office are making a point that it's a bad movie, which it is not.

About Me

Born in Vermont, raised in Massachusetts, after high school in 1975 moved to Pittsburgh for college. Met many people but, in particular Jim Mann and we got married in 1977. Had a daughter in Ohio in 1980, moved back to Massachusetts in 1982. Worked for Stratus Computer from 1983-1993 and moved back to Pittsburgh. Various jobs including a three year stint at Ansys. Returned to the University of Pittsburgh to finish my degree in 2000. Since then, odd jobs, volunteer work, self-employment and unemployment in various degrees.